Pellet crusher and method of comminuting pellets

Abstract

The invention provides a pellet crusher and a method for crushing pellets. A pellet crusher comprising: a disk rotatable, translating up and down, and upwardly biased about an axis of the disk; a punch movable from a first position outside the disc to a second position inside the disc; a motor that rotates the disk when the punch is in the second position; and an actuator that increases an upward force on the disk when the punch is in the second position. A method of fragmenting one or more pellets between nested pairs of pellet crushing cups, the method comprising: biasing a disk of a pellet crusher upwardly, the disk being rotatable; detecting that a cover of the pellet crusher is closed, the cover having a punch protruding into the disc; it is detected that nested pairs of upper pellet crushing cups exist in the disc; and at the same time: using a motor to rotate the disk to rotate the lower pellet crushing cup of the nesting pair; and increasing the upward force on the disk by the actuator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pellet crusher and more particularly to a drive and control mechanism for the machine. Background Art

[0002] Patients often have difficulty swallowing medications in tablet or pill form; however, for many medications, this is the only form available. In addition, many pills are coated or otherwise designed to break down after ingestion, but in cases where the patient is very young, old, and / or ill, this breakdown of the medication can be disrupted, either occurring much more slowly than expected, or not occurring at all. In order to more easily and effectively administer medications in such situations, the pills are typically crushed using a mortar and pestle or other mechanical device that typically breaks and / or grinds the pills between two hard surfaces. Once the pills are crushed, the powder is typically transferred to a container where it is mixed with fluids or food for administration to the patient.

[0003] To reduce cross contamination and material loss, pairs of inexpensive, disposable nested containers are used to break up one or more pills between the bottoms of the nested containers. The containers can then be separated and the broken up medication can then be scraped off and mixed or suspended in fluids or food for administration to the patient.

[0004] The most advanced machines have a drive that generates both the force to break the tablets and the force to grind them. On some machines, the drive must lower the punch into the cup with the tablet to be broken during the approach stroke. All machines are started by compressing a spring while turning the grinding cup. The disadvantage of this is that the actual grinding does not occur until the spring is compressed enough to transmit the force required to break (i.e., break) the tablet into smaller fragments. When this happens, the stroke is usually at or near its end, and some grinding only occurs on the return stroke when the spindle that compresses the spring rotates in the opposite direction and the spring is decompressed. Even then, the grinding effect is usually so weak that the spindle of some machines stops again about a third of the way back and makes another forward stroke towards the bottom before completing the return stroke to the starting state. This often results in unnecessarily long cycle times.

[0005] U.S. Patent No. 5,067,666 to Sussman discloses a portable device for crushing pills to form a powder. The device includes a cam-driven, spring-biased ram that reciprocates once on a vertical axis to engage and disengage a pill disposed thereunder with sufficient local force to crush the pill.

[0006] US Patent 6,508,424 to Marshall discloses a pellet crusher having a motorized turret and a capped plunger in a lower container.

[0007] US Patent 6,626,429 issued to Baswick et al. discloses a solid drug crushing device having a solenoid engaged with a vertical crushing ram. When the solenoid is de-energized, a return spring moves the ram to a starting position. A cup assembly is used to contain the drug to be crushed.

[0008] U.S. Patent 7,427,041 to Hall et al. discloses a tablet crusher having: a paper cup receptacle having an upwardly open frustoconical recess for receiving a paper cup; a plunger having a frustoconical shape complementary to the frustoconical shape of the recess, the plunger being located above and coaxial with the recess; an electric motor; and a reciprocating drive transmission between the electric motor and the plunger for moving the plunger into and out of the recess. The reciprocating drive transmission includes a worm and nut drive transmission for rotating the plunger while moving the plunger into the receptacle.

[0009] US Patent 7,543,770 to Peron et al. describes an automatic tablet crusher including a container arranged to receive at least one tablet, means for generating a linear force on the tablet in a first direction, and means for generating a spring force on the tablet in a second direction.

[0010] U.S. Patent 7,559,496 to Shewchuk describes a tablet crushing device having a mortar portion engaged with a bottom tray and a pestle portion engaged with a top tray. A hammer portion extends between two pivotable lever arms and can contact the top tray.

[0011] U.S. Patent Application 2018 / 0093276 to Fader et al. discloses an optical system for detecting the upper cup of a pair of pill crushing cups in a crusher. If the upper cup is not present, the machine is prevented from operating; if the upper cup is present, the machine is enabled to operate. An optional sensor may be included to detect if the drawer containing the cups and pills is closed, which serves as another condition that must be met before crushing can begin.

[0012] This background information is not intended, and should not be construed, to constitute prior art with respect to the present invention. Summary of the invention

[0013] The present invention relates to a pill crusher (referred to as the "machine") having a dual drive mechanism. For example, a mechanical drive is used to rotate one of the cups, and for example, a pneumatic drive is used to generate the crushing force. For example, the crushing mechanism is pre-biased by a spring to a position where crushing begins when the crushing force is applied. Various safety sensors are incorporated into the machine. In some embodiments, a vibration sensor is also included, which detects when the pill is sufficiently crushed and automatically stops the machine in response.

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention use an air pump to generate the crushing force, which is separate from the drive that controls the rotational force used to grind the crushed particles. The air pump can be a compressor, or a connected compressed air source can be used. Compressed liquids or gels can also be used in some embodiments. Compared with the currently known prior art, the system has one or more advantages. They are: (a) the full crushing force can be achieved and act on the tablet to be crushed almost immediately, for example, within a few milliseconds of the start of the crushing cycle, which can be initiated by closing the cover; (b) grinding is effective almost immediately, for example, a few milliseconds after the start of the crushing cycle, which can be initiated by closing the cover; (c) grinding and crushing are fully effective for substantially the entire duration of the cycle time, resulting in a significant reduction in the total cycle time and / or an increase in the grinding quality per unit of running time; (d) grinding speed and crushing force can be varied independently; (e) grinding speed and crushing force can be programmed according to the specific profile of difficult-to-crush tablets, and these programs can be stored and retrieved; (f) if the crushing cycle is interrupted, there is no complicated and time-consuming reset procedure, because a new cycle can be started immediately after the machine stops.

[0015] A tablet crusher is disclosed, comprising: a disc capable of rotating about an axis of the disc, translating up and down, and biasing upward; a punch capable of moving from a first position outside the disc to a second position inside the disc; a motor that rotates the disc when the punch is in the second position; and an actuator that increases an upward force on the disc when the punch is in the second position.

[0016] Also disclosed is a method of comminuting one or more pills between a nested pair of pill crushing cups, the method comprising: biasing a pill crusher disc upward, the disc being capable of rotating; detecting that a lid of the pill crusher is closed, the lid having a punch protruding into the disc; detecting the presence of an upper pill crushing cup of the nested pair in the disc; and simultaneously rotating the disc using a motor to rotate a lower pill crushing cup of the nested pair and increasing an upward force on the disc by an actuator.

[0017] This summary provides a simplified, non-exhaustive introduction to some aspects of the invention without dictating the scope of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The following drawings illustrate embodiments of the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention in any way.

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a pellet crusher according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing selected components thereof.

[0020] Figure 2 is a perspective view from the front and above of a pill crusher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 is a perspective view from the rear and bottom of a pill crusher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 is a perspective view from the front and above of an opened pill crusher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view from the side of an opened pellet crusher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 is a perspective view from the front and above of a pill crusher without a body and a cover according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 is a perspective view from the rear bottom of a pill crusher without a body cover according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 8 yes Figure 5 Close-up of a part of.

[0027] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a pellet crusher according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Fig.10 is a flow chart showing the automatic stop of a pill crusher according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] A. Vocabulary

[0030] The term "firmware" includes, but is not limited to, program code and data used to control and manage the interactions between the various modules of the system.

[0031] The term "hardware" includes, but is not limited to, the physical housing of the machine, as well as the internal frame, displays, connectors, motors, pumps, wiring, circuit boards, and other physical components.

[0032] LCD-TFT – Liquid Crystal Display Thin Film Transistor

[0033] The term "module" may refer to any component in the present invention and any or all features of the present invention, but is not limited thereto. A module may be a software, firmware or hardware module and may be located in a machine, a user device or a server.

[0034] The term "network" may include both mobile networks and data networks without limiting the meaning of the term, and includes the use of wireless and / or hard-wired connections (including buses), and may include connections to memory components.

[0035] PCB – Printed Circuit Board

[0036] POM – Polyoxymethylene

[0037] The term "processor" or "processing circuitry" is used to refer to any electronic circuit or group of circuits that performs computations, and may include, for example, single-core or multi-core processors, multiple processors, ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), and application-specific circuits, for example, implemented on a reconfigurable device such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array). The processor performs some or all of the steps in the flow chart, whether the steps are explicitly described as being performed by the processor or are implicitly performed because the steps are described as being performed by code or modules. If there are multiple processors, the processors may be located together or geographically separated from each other. The term includes virtual processors and machine instances, such as in cloud computing or local virtualization, which are ultimately based on physical processors.

[0038] The term "software" includes, but is not limited to, program code that receives sensor signals, performs calculations, and makes decisions necessary to control the machine.

[0039] B. Operation Principle

[0040] Reference Figure 1 , shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a pill crusher. The machine has a body 2 to which a cover 4 is connected by a hinge. Projecting downwardly from the underside of the cover 4 is a punch 16, which is fixed relative to the cover. Within the body 2 there is a disc 18, which is sized to receive a pair of nested pill crushing cups 60, 62. Between these cups there are one or more pills 64 to be crushed. For convenience, these cups are usually identical, although this is not necessary. The disc can rotate about the axis of symmetry of its wall, for example, the wall is frustoconical and conforms to the outer wall of the cup 60. For example, the axis of symmetry can be arranged vertically. The shape of the wall of the punch 16 conforms to the inner wall of the cup 62, and when the cover is closed, the axis of symmetry of the wall of the punch is aligned with the axis of symmetry of the disc 18, so that the punch and the disc are coaxial.

[0041] The disk 18 is translatable up and down and is biased upward in the body 2 by one or more springs 34, the lower ends of which are mounted on the frame plate 36. In addition to facilitating the insertion of the cup and pill load, the upward bias also allows the punch to contact and possibly press downward on the upper cup 62 once the lid 4 is closed. When the lid 4 is closed, the punch 16 moves from a first position outside the disk 18 to a second position inside the disk, clamping the cup and pill load between the punch and the disk.

[0042] Once the cover is closed, which is detected by the electrical and / or electronic circuitry on the PCB (printed circuit board) 23, the motor 47 begins to rotate the gear 46, which in turn rotates the disk 18 on the bearing 26. The gear 46 and the disk 18 are configured to allow relative vertical movement between each other. The drive motor 47 can be fixed and there is a long gear configuration on the disk 18 so that the drive gear remains engaged with the driven gear as the disk 18 moves up and down. In other embodiments, the motor 47 and gear 46 move up and down with the disk 18. This avoids axial friction between the drive gear and the driven gear under load due to grinding forces. This prevents unnecessary wear on the gears and unnecessary power consumption. In some embodiments of the present invention, the drive gear transmission motor is mounted on a bearing mount housing directly below the disk so that the drive gear transmission motor moves up and down with the disk 18.

[0043] For example, the lower cup 60 is mechanically engaged with the disk 18 via a polygonal edge on the lower cup that fits into a corresponding polygonal recess around the top of the disk. As a result, the lower cup rotates with the disk. The upper cup 62 does not rotate because it is mechanically engaged with the cover 4, for example, via a polygonal edge 66 of the upper cup that fits into a corresponding polygonal recess in the cover around the punch.

[0044] In addition, once the lid is closed, the actuator increases the upward force on the disk 18. The actuator may be or include a pneumatic device, such as an air pump 39. Once the lid is closed, the electrical circuit activates the air pump 39, pumping ambient air into the pneumatic cylinder 30 while closing the valve 44. The air pumped into the cylinder 30 creates pressure on the piston 28, which increases the upward force on the disk 18. This additional upward force breaks up the pills, which is aided by the lower cup 60 rotating relative to the upper cup 62 and by the abrasive domes on the base of the cup.

[0045] When the tablet grinding is sufficiently completed, the motor 47 is stopped, the air pump 39 is stopped, and the pressure in the pneumatic cylinder 30 is released by opening the valve 44.

[0046] Safety features may be included, such as a microswitch 20 in the lid 4. When the lid is closed, the presence of the upper cup 62 in the load in the tray causes the pin 22 of the microswitch 20 to trigger the microswitch. If the lid is closed and there are no cups and pills in the tray, or even only one cup in the tray, the microswitch 20 will not be triggered. This is because the thickness or height of the edge of the cup 60 above the surface 68 of the tray alone is not sufficient to reach the pin 22 of the microswitch. Therefore, the machine cannot be started. Other microswitches may be connected to the PCB 23, for example, microswitches that detect the closure of the lid and the snapping of the lid in the closed position.

[0047] The electronic circuit includes one or more processors and one or more processor-readable memories storing processor-readable instructions that, when implemented, cause the execution of one or more functions of the machine. The instructions may be software or firmware or a combination of both.

[0048] C. Exemplary Embodiments

[0049] Reference Figure 2 , the machine or appliance is built from the bottom up, starting with a body base 101, which is a high pressure die casting made of an aluminum alloy and incorporates a battery compartment. A body cover 102 is attached to the body base 101. A snap release button 103 is accessible through the body cover, which is used to unlock the cover so that it can be opened. The cover 100 includes a cover cover 104 and a cover base 105. An LCD-TFT (liquid crystal display thin film transistor) touch screen display 106 is assembled to the cover 100 and is accessible to the user through the cover cover 104.

[0050] Reference Figure 3 , the cover 100 of the machine is connected to the upper frame plate inside the machine by a cover hinge 107 with a hinge pin 112. The on-off switch 108 and the battery charging socket 109 are mounted on a raised panel at the rear of the body base 101. This has the advantage that when the body cover has to be removed from the machine for maintenance purposes, the electronic control components do not have to be removed from the body cover 102. For example, four rubber feet 110 are also clamped into the bottom of the body base to enable the machine to stand firmly without sliding around on a moving trolley. In order to change the batteries, the battery compartment is accessible via a battery compartment cover 111, which is injection molded from a PC-ABS (polycarbonate / acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) polymer. One side of the battery compartment cover is clamped into the base by means of two tabs, and the opposite side is held closed by a screw.

[0051] Reference Figure 4, the lid of the machine 100 is connected to the upper frame plate inside the machine by a lid hinge 107. The lid is also connected to the lower frame plate inside the machine by a lid hook 115 that engages with a snap hook 119 (or "snap"). Therefore, when closed, the lid is connected to the frame components inside the machine both at the front and at the back. When the snap release button 103 is pushed against the spring towards the machine, the snap hook 119 is pushed into the machine and thus disengaged from the lid hook 115, which is an integral part of the lid base 105. When the snap hook 119 is disengaged from the lid hook 115, the lid is automatically lifted to the open position and is held there by means of the gas spring 113. A fixed crushing punch 116 is shown protruding downward from the lid base 105. The punch is fixed so that it cannot move or rotate relative to the lid base. A cable channel 117 allows cables to connect the electrical and electronic components in the lid to the electrical and electronic components in the machine body. A rotating grinding disc 118 is visible in the crushing chamber 114 in the upper part of the machine body.

[0052] Reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 The battery box 141 at the bottom accommodates the battery pack 131, which supplies power to operate the machine and its control elements. The battery box 141 can be entered through the battery box cover 111.

[0053] The pneumatic cylinder 130 is injection molded from a POM (polyoxymethylene) polymer and is attached to the body base 101 in a fixed position by means of a lower frame plate 136. The lower frame plate 136 is attached to the flange 152 of the pneumatic cylinder by four machine screws. Four tie rods 140 connect the lower frame plate 136 to the upper frame plate 132, which together form the load frame of the machine. This load frame bears all the forces generated by the crushing and grinding actions of the machine. The pneumatic piston 128 is coupled to the vertically moving bearing mount (housing) 127 by a press fit and can move up and down inside the pneumatic cylinder 130. An O-ring seal 129 mounted on the pneumatic piston 128 facilitates the build-up of pressure between the pneumatic piston and the pneumatic cylinder. The required pressure is generated by an air pump 139, which is suspended in an anti-vibration mount 138 molded from TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) to ensure low noise levels during operation. The air pump works with a solenoid valve 144, which is also mounted on the anti-vibration mount of the air pump. The air pump outlet, the pneumatic cylinder and the solenoid valve are connected to the Y-connector 145 with hoses 164, 166, 168, respectively. When pressure is not required, the air pump and the solenoid valve are both de-energized. In this state, the solenoid valve connects the pneumatic cylinder port to the atmosphere. When pressure is required, both the air pump and the solenoid valve are energized. Now that the pneumatic cylinder port is closed to the atmosphere by the solenoid valve, for example, a diaphragm-type rotary air pump can build up a pressure of up to 120KPa in the pneumatic cylinder. For example, this is equivalent to a force of 350N, which can be used to crush tablets. When the solenoid valve and the air pump are de-energized, the pressure is quickly (almost instantly) removed from the pneumatic cylinder.

[0054] The vertically movable bearing mount 127 is prevented from rotating by the guidance of four tie rods 140. Four lifting springs 134 are mounted for the bearing mount 127, one spring per tie rod 140 in the center and all four springs extend between the lower frame plate 136 and below the flange 154 of the vertically movable bearing mount 127. When the machine is not running, these springs lift the vertically movable bearing mount 127 to its highest position. This has the advantage that when a crushing cycle is initiated, the processing of the tablets to be crushed is started immediately as soon as the cycle is initiated. This function is also needed to detect whether the operator has loaded a second cup before initiating a new crushing cycle.

[0055] Angular contact ball bearings 126 are mounted about the central axis of the vertically movable bearing mount 127. Since angular contact ball bearings can carry both radial and axial loads, they are ideally suited to handle radial grinding forces and axial crushing forces with a minimum amount of friction. This helps to minimize power requirements, thereby extending the number of crushing operations that can be performed per battery charge.

[0056] Briefly refer to Figure 7 , a geared motor 147 for the grinding table is radially offset from the central axis of the vertically movable bearing mount 127. The geared motor 147 drives a gear tooth structure 156 on the driven rotating grinding table 124 by means of a drive gear 146 mounted on the drive shaft of the geared motor. The driven rotating grinding table 124 is centrally mounted on an angular contact ball bearing, the driven rotating grinding table is injection molded from a POM polymer, and the drive gear tooth structure 156 is embedded in the body of the driven rotating grinding table. The table is driven by the geared motor via the drive gear of the grinding table, for example, at a speed of up to 10 rpm. In other embodiments, the speed can be faster, for example, using a more powerful motor and / or a larger gearbox, which can reduce the crushing cycle time.

[0057] Back reference Figure 5 and Figure 6, a dust seal 125 made of felt is assembled to the driven rotating grinding table 124, sealing against the body cover 102 to prevent any overflowing tablet dust from reaching the rotating bearing device. In some embodiments, the felt seal is replaced by a molded rubber seal made of TPE. Although the rotating grinding disc 118 is loosely assembled, it is rotationally fixed to the grinding table 124 by a toothed structure. In this way, the disc 118 can be removed for cleaning. For each crushing cycle to be performed, the cup containing the tablet to be crushed is inserted into the rotating grinding disc 118. When the lower pill crushing cup is placed in the disc, six walls 170 with a flat inner face around the edge of the disc 118 engage with six corresponding straight edges of the edge of the lower pill crushing cup. When the disc rotates, these walls 170 cause the lower cup to rotate with the disc. In the cover base 105, there is a hexagonal recess 172 around the base of the punch 116, which corresponds to the hexagonal shape of the edge of the upper pill crushing cup. This recess 172 prevents the upper cup from rotating during the crushing and grinding operations.

[0058] The lid of the machine, which comprises a lid base 105 and a lid cover 104, is connected to the upper frame plate 132 of the machine by means of a lid hinge 107 and a hinge pin 112, and to the lower frame plate 136 by means of a lid hook 115 and a snap hook 119. The snap hook 119 pivots about a release snap hinge pin 137. The lid is in an open position when the machine is unloaded and loaded for tablet crushing. When the snap release button 103 guided in a button guide 135 is pushed toward the machine against its button spring 133, the snap hook 119 is pushed inwards, thereby releasing the lid hook 115 and allowing the lid to be opened by the gas spring 113.

[0059] After loading the group of tablets to be crushed (i.e. the tablets held between the two crushing cups) into the rotating grinding disc 118, the cover is closed manually by pushing the cover base handle 158. Two microswitches are then activated, i.e. the cover under microswitch 143 and the cover securely locked microswitch 142, so that initiation of the crushing cycle can be achieved. When the cover is closed, the fixed crushing punch 116, which is part of the cover base 105, pushes the entire vertically movable bearing mounting assembly downwards with the approximate thickness of the cup of the tablets to be crushed, against the lifting spring 134 that holds the entire vertically movable bearing mounting assembly at the upper limit of the possible working stroke. This ensures economical movement of the working parts and facilitates a shortened crushing time cycle.

[0060] A microswitch 120 for the presence of a second cup is mounted inside the fixed crushing punch section of the cover. The microswitch 120 is activated by a sensing pin 122 for sensing the presence of the second (upper) cup, which is typically pushed onto the inner edge of the upper disposable cup, which is loaded with tablets to be crushed, by an edge region of the fixed crushing punch. The sensing pin 122 is mounted in a sensing pin housing 162. When the cover is closed, the cup pack with the inserted tablets (i.e., the load) is pushed upward against the cover and the punch, which in turn pushes the sensing pin 122, causing an interruption of the circuit in the microswitch 120. This relays a signal to a microprocessor which can initiate a crushing cycle. When grinding occurs, the lower cup rotates while the upper cup is prevented from rotating, and the tablet is crushed between the bases of the two cups. If the operator forgets to place the second disposable cup on the tablet to be crushed, the microswitch 120 will not be activated because the pin 122 will not be lifted, resulting in a crushing cycle that cannot be initiated until the error is corrected. Using a microswitch 120 may be less expensive than using a light beam to detect the presence of an upper cup, although this may be possible in some embodiments.

[0061] The machine is electronically controlled by a microprocessor and supporting electronics mounted on an electronics PCB 121 inside the cover of the machine. An LCD-TFT touch screen display 106 is mounted to the electronics PCB 121 with its operating side facing outward. For example, the touch screen displays the charge status of the battery pack, the duration of the operating cycle, all control buttons and the company logo. By paging through the multiple screens, it is possible to change the crushing cycle time and view various information related to the ongoing maintenance of the machine. The serial number and model of the machine as well as maintenance and consumable supply information can be accessed through the display interface. For example, there can be a choice of four cycles, three of which are associated with different timers. The fourth cycle can be automatically controlled by a vibration sensor 160 built into the cover of the unit. In the fourth cycle, the cycle duration can be controlled by the vibration intensity, which decreases as the tablets are ground into a fine powder. Under this automatic cycle, the crushing cycle duration will be at its optimal state. Any crushing cycle can be interrupted at any time by pressing the stop button on the display, or by simply pressing the snap release button, causing the cover to automatically lift and instantly stop all crushing functions, or by turning off the machine through the switch 108. There is no need to reset the machine as it resets itself instantly if the cycle is interrupted.

[0062] A second electrical PCB 123 is mounted to the rear of the lower frame plate 136. All electrical switching devices for operating motors, pumps and solenoids and all power management control elements are mounted on this PCB. This PCB 123 is connected to the PCB 121 in the cover via a ribbon cable passing through the ribbon cable channel 117.

[0063] Reference Figure 8 , showing Figure 5 Close-up of part of the Figure 8 1, pneumatic piston 128 is shown connected to vertical motion bearing mount 127, both of which move up and down in pneumatic cylinder 130. Flange 152 of pneumatic cylinder 130 is connected to lower frame plate 136, which also supports bias spring 134. Spring 134 lifts the vertical motion assembly, which includes pneumatic piston 128, vertical motion bearing mount 127, bearing 126, grinding table 124, dust seal 125 and disc 118.

[0064] Reference Fig. 9 , a flow chart for the operation of the machine is shown. In step 200, the grinding table carrying the disc is raised by the biasing spring. After loading the tablets and cups into the disc, the machine detects the closing of the cover in step 202. In step 204, the machine detects that the appropriate load has been placed into the disc in the grinding table. In step 206, the machine then applies upward pressure on the disc to provide a crushing force on the tablets, and at the same time, the machine rotates the grinding table in step 208. In step 210, the machine detects a stop command, whereupon the machine stops the rotation of the grinding table in step 212, and releases the pressure on the disc in step 214.

[0065] Reference Fig.10 , shows a flow chart for using a vibration sensor. In step 230, the machine detects that a suitable load has been placed into the disc in the grinding table. In step 232, the machine begins grinding and crushing operations by rotating the grinding table and applying an upward force on the disc, respectively. In step 234, the machine determines whether the vibration in the machine detected by the vibration sensor is below a threshold. If the vibration level is not below the threshold, the machine continues to run and the process returns to step 234. If in step 234, the vibration level is below the threshold, the machine stops crushing and grinding in step 236.

[0066] D. Change

[0067] In some embodiments, the piston can be replaced by another actuator for providing the main, upward crushing force on the disc. For example, the actuator can be a screw drive driven by a worm gear, or it can be a hydraulic actuator.

[0068] In other embodiments other mechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic mechanisms may be used. The main requirement is that the crushing force is applied separately from the rotational force, or at least that the two forces are independently controlled. In some embodiments, the same prime mover can be used to provide both forces via separate gear mechanisms.

[0069] In other embodiments, the pressures and forces generated may be greater or less than those described above.

[0070] In other embodiments, the positioning of the various components can be in other locations. For example, the vibration sensor can be positioned on the vertically movable bearing mount 127. As another example, the punch and upper cup can rotate while the lower cup is prevented from rotating and is only forced upward. For example, the punch and upper cup can be rotated by a motor and gears in the cover or body of the machine.

[0071] In some embodiments, the axis of symmetry of the disk wall (about which the disk rotates) may deviate from a vertical arrangement when the pellet crusher rests on a horizontal plane.

[0072] In some embodiments, the disc 118 is biased upward by other mechanisms (eg, by a counterweight).

[0073] In some embodiments, for example, the machine is user programmable and communicates via Bluetooth TM . The communication protocol and application are linked to the smartphone. This connection can also be used for remote connection to facilitate problem analysis.

[0074] Depending on their configuration, embodiments may exhibit all or less than all of the advantages described herein.Other advantages not mentioned may be present in one or more embodiments.

[0075] Features from any embodiment may be combined with features from any other embodiment to form another embodiment within the scope of the invention.

[0076] In general, unless otherwise indicated, singular elements may be in plural and vice versa with no loss of generality.

[0077] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that further changes may be made to the specific details disclosed herein to produce other embodiments within the scope of the invention as claimed.

[0078] All proportions, dimensions, angles, materials, amounts, and configurations described herein are examples only and may be modified depending upon the particular embodiment being implemented.

[0079] Throughout the description, specific details have been set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known elements are not shown or described in detail, and repeated steps and features are omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. Therefore, the description and drawings should be viewed from an illustrative rather than a restrictive perspective. It is clear to those skilled in the art that the details disclosed herein can be changed to produce other embodiments within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be interpreted according to the content defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A pill crusher, comprising: a disc capable of rotating about an axis of the disc, translating up and down, and biasing upward; a punch movable from a first position outside the disk to a second position inside the disk; a motor that rotates the disk when the punch is in the second position; and An actuator increases the upward force on the disk when the punch is in the second position.

2. The pill crusher of claim 1 further comprising one or more springs biasing the disc upward.

3. The tablet crusher according to claim 1, wherein: The actuator includes a piston activated by an air pump.

4. The pellet crusher of claim 3, further comprising an anti-vibration mount in which the air pump is mounted.

5. The pill crusher according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover, the punch protruding downwardly from the cover; a buckle, the buckle keeping the cover closed; and A spring maintains the cover open and the punch in the first position when the cover is unlocked from the catch.

6. The pill crusher according to claim 5, further comprising: a frame to which the clip is connected; and A hinge is connected between the frame and the cover.

7. The tablet crusher according to claim 1, wherein: The disc is sized to accommodate a lower pill crushing cup nested with an upper pill crushing cup with one or more pills therebetween; When the disc rotates, the disc engages with the lower pill crushing cup to rotate the lower pill crushing cup; and The cover of the pill crusher engages the upper pill crushing cup to prevent the upper pill crushing cup from rotating when the disc rotates.

8. The pill crusher according to claim 1, further comprising: a stage in which the disk is mounted, wherein the motor rotates the stage to rotate the disk; and one or more bearings, the table being mounted on the one or more bearings; Wherein, the tray is removable.

9. The pill crusher according to claim 8, further comprising: a first gear attached to and rotated by the motor; and A second gear is in the table and is rotated by the first gear.

10. The pill crusher according to claim 8, further comprising: Upper frame plate; Lower frame plate; one or more tie rods, the one or more tie rods being between the upper frame plate and the lower frame plate; a bearing mounting seat on which the one or more bearings are mounted; in: The actuator includes a piston activated by the air pump; The bearing mount is mounted on the piston; and The one or more tie rods prevent the piston and bearing mount from rotating.

11. The pill crusher according to claim 1, further comprising: build; a first microswitch positioned in the cover to detect the presence of an upper pill breaking cup of a nested pair of pill breaking cups in the tray; and A second micro switch is positioned to detect that the lid is closed.

12. The tablet crusher according to claim 11, further comprising: Buckle; and A third micro switch is positioned to detect that the buckle has hooked onto the cover.

13. The pill crusher according to claim 1, further comprising: Cover base; a touch screen mounted on the cover base; and A cover exposes the touch screen.

14. A method of breaking one or more pills between nested pairs of pill breaking cups, the method comprising: biasing the disc of the pellet crusher upward, the disc being able to rotate; detecting that a cover of the pellet crusher is closed, the cover having a punch protruding into the pan; detecting the presence of the upper pill crushing cup of the nested pair in the tray; and at the same time: Rotating the disk using a motor to rotate the lower pill breaking cup of the nested pair; and An upward force on the disk is increased by the actuator.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: The actuator includes an air pump and a piston.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising engaging the cover with the upper pill-breaking cup to prevent the upper pill-breaking cup from rotating when the lower pill-breaking cup rotates.

17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: detecting that a vibration level in the pellet crusher has dropped below a threshold; And, in response, The disk is stopped from rotating and the upward force on the disk is reduced.

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